Author Description

At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Weekly Magazine presents original short stories by the world's best-known and emerging mystery writers. The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty. Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery. In This Issue: Our feature story, "The Mechanical Rat" by Lawrence Buentello, is a cross-genre science-fiction mystery exploring differing viewpoints: One man's work of art is another man's weapon of choice. Or so it seems... By popular demand, Mrs Walker returns to our magazine for a holiday tale in "Mrs Walker And The Poisonous Punch" by Katie Ginger. Mrs Walker hates Christmas parties, but when one of the guests dies, the party becomes a lot more interesting than she bargained for. Michael McGlade brings us a noirish tale in "Not A Smart Way To Start A Negotiation." Elizabeth has been kidnapped by two men who want what she has except Elizabeth is much more than a tough negotiator. A life is at stake and Hal and three friends must take extreme measures or the blood will be on their hands. But is it guilt that drives them, or something else? In Laura Gianino's "Sammy." Steve Shrott asks is it true love or something much more sinister? In his twists and turns romance-gone-bad, "True Love." "Ailanthus On Patchin Place" by Claude Chabot will keep you contemplating long after reading this literary mystery about an elderly woman who hears a child crying. Sample of Mechanical Rat: Everyone loved mechanical mice, according to Yazz